Kevin's Dilemma
by sky.guinalie
Summary: A Pentatonix fic. I realized that there were no Kevin Fanfics! So here it is: a Kevin tale. I doubt that he'd ever really do this. Kevin feels like he never gets the same kind of respect as the rest of Pentatonix and decides to do something about it. It isn't until he's made a big mistake when he realizes that they appreciated him all along. Reviews are helpful! Love yall.
1. Chicago

Kevin sat in the dim room, on his bed, a journal spread out in front of him. He'd never really kept a journal before, but now it was becoming a habit. He wrote, words blossoming out of his mind and appearing on the page in the fluid cursive of a blue pen.

_I sometimes feel as if they all ignore me. Without me, they'd be nothing, but they never have realized my full potential. What if they don't want to? Perhaps I haven't been trying hard enough. Maybe I need to go the extra distance and prove that I'm not just backup. _

_I'm sure that they do appreciate me, but people don't like me like they like them. I'm different, because I'm in the background. I'm an instrument. Maybe if I spoke out more, and took charge, people would adore me the way they adore the others. _

_It's like I'm the one who pulls them along, but they're the ones who get the credit for showing up. I think I'll try standing up for myself some more, and doing the things that I want to do. Maybe it'll show. Maybe things will change. _

_There's a big change waiting in the wings for me, I can feel it. Tomorrow looks bright. _

Kevin smiled, closing the journal. He slid it into the drawer in his bedside table, flicking on another light. He settled into a comfy position and began to read.

At about eight, Kevin got a call. "Hello?" he answered.

"Hi! You need to come right now," Scott's voice crackled through the telephone wires.

"Why?" Kevin asked. "I was getting ready to go to sleep, you know."

Scott snorted indignantly. "It's literally, like, eight thirty. Come on! Even Avi's here."

"But why?" Kevin was a bit annoyed. "You never answered that."

"We're all watching Chicago! I found out how to make Netflix go onto the TV screen thingie!" Scott sounded so excited. "You have to come. Esther and Jonathan are here."

"You called me, interrupted me, for Chicago?" Kevin rolled his eyes. Typical of the trio. At least once a week they watched some sort of musical, then talked about it for ever and ever, even thought they'd already seen it a hundred times.

"Everyone likes Chicago," Scott said, sounding slightly put down.

"Okay, fine," Kevin sighed, getting up and putting the book down dog eared on the bedside table while searching for a bookmark before the binding cracked. "I'll be there in a bit."

"Great!" Scott's tone suggested that he knew that Kevin would let up eventually. "See ya."

The phone clicked, and Kevin set it down. _There I go again,_ he thought. _Why do I always let them boss me around? I've gotta start standing up for myself. _Kevin grabbed a coat and headed out the door.

When Kevin got to the house, lights were shining and illuminating patches on the asphalt ground of LA. He rang the doorbell.

When Jonathan let Kevin in, everyone was squished onto the couch except for Kirstie, who was standing behind it and braiding Esther's long dark hair.

"Hi guys," Kevin said, waving at them.

"I knew it," said Kirstie, smiling. "I knew he'd show up."

"He always does," Esther said. "Kevin, come on! There's probably room in the couch."

Scott smushed Mitch and pulled Esther into the empty space that was left, opening another one after her. "Curvy!" he said. "Sit here!"

Kevin sat between Esther and Avi and felt very squished and uncomfortable. "Are you sure there's not a better way to do this?" he asked.

"Do you have any suggestions?" replied Esther. "I think it's cozy."

"What if some guys sit on the floor?" Kevin proposed. _That should work,_ he thought.

"But no one wants to do that!" exclaimed Scott. "I mean, I bet Avi would, but…"

"No, I can if you guys need some more room," Avi said, getting up. "Go ahead." He settled himself down on a pillow on the floor.

"Yay! I can fit!" Kirstie jumped onto the couch.

Kevin rolled his eyes. _Just when I'd had enough room. _"Come on, seriously?"

Esther laughed, and slid down by her brother. "There you go, Kevin."

"Well, I've gotta go," Jonathan said.

"But we never watched-" Scott began, a pleading looking in his blue-gray eyes.

"I've seen that movie a million times," Jonathan said, smiling. "Hope Mitch's okay." He waved, closing the door carefully behind him.

"What did he mean, he hoped that Mitch is okay?" asked Kevin, looking over at Scott.

"Huh?" Scott turned and realized that Kevin was talking to him. "Oh, yeah. He's just having a tough time. So be nice!"

Kevin thought. _Well, he hasn't talked the whole time, which is unusual, but why aren't they telling me what happened? _"Why?"

"Uh, he and-" Scott began.

"I think I'll go to sleep early. Bye," Mitch said quickly, interrupting. He got up and left, walking out his bedroom.

"Kirstie!" Esther said. "I thought you were gonna text Kevin."

"Yeah, about that…" Kirstie said, looking very uncomfortable. "I maybe forgot?"

"Seriously?" asked Avi. He reached up and swatted at Kirstie's braid.

"Guys! Can you just tell me what's going on?" Kevin demanded. _I might have said that a bit loudly, _he thought.

"Okay, okay!" Esther held her hands up. "So, his boyfriend broke up with him and he's really, really upset."

"Why?" asked Kevin.

"I don't really-" began Avi.

"No, why didn't anyone tell me?" Kevin sighed. "Forget about me?"

"What?" Kirstie was shocked. "No, I just- Kevin!"

"She just was caught up with other stuff," Avi said. "You know now, just let it go."

"You know, I don't feel like watching a musical tonight," Kevin said, getting up. _I can't believe them. _"I'll go. Bye." He practically stormed out.

"What do you think happened to him?" asked Kirstie, sounding worried.

"Big deal." Scott hugged his knees. "Sorry, but I think that right now, Mitch is who we have to worry about."

The cold air whipped at Kevin's face as he stepped out of the car and walking into his house. He flopped onto his bed and sighed. _I was right._


	2. A Plan

_Today, the sun hit at a different angle. It means Spring is coming, and the long nights of Winter are finally over. That's hopeful. One can get tired of the cold and the frost, ice, and snow covering the ground. I certainly was. _

_Something that's bothering me is that I was right. I thought that maybe I was just overreacting at the time, but I guess I wasn't. Last night, I let my friends tread on me again. They knew that I would show up even though I didn't want to be there. Even they know I'm a doormat. Also, they all knew that Mitch had lost his boyfriend, but of course, Kirstie 'forgot' to tell me. _

_I need to start standing up for myself. And I will. And I bet it'll hit them hard, but they deserve it. If I stop being such a doormat, people will start to notice me for who I am and stop cutting me out to get the others in the picture more clearly._

Kevin closed the journal, courage written all over his face. The morning was fresh and bright, and he was feeling great. _Now all I've got to do is tell them I'm sick of how they treat me,_ Kevin thought, smiling. He picked up his phone and called Kirstie.

"Hi," her voice sounded slurred.

Kevin guessed she'd just woken up. _Well, I do get up kind of early. _"Hello, Kirstie."

"It's, like, seven and it's a weekend," Kirstie complained. "Don't get up so early!"

"Sorry," Kevin apologized. _But she should be getting up this early, too. _"No, actually, I'm not sorry. You should wake up earlier. It's good for you."

"Okay!" Kirstie said brightly. "Thanks. Is that why you called me?"

"No, I think that we need to have a meeting," Kevin said firmly. "Come over in an hour, okay?"

"What about breakfast?" asked Kirstie, wondering why Kevin couldn't wait.

"Eat now," Kevin suggested. "Just be here, okay?"

"Sure, cool," Kirstie agreed. "See ya then."

Kevin smiled. _I feel so great and assertive. I'm on top of the world. Kirstie just totally understood that I wouldn't change the time for her. _He called Avi with the same results.

Kevin called Scott. "Scott."

"Wha? Yeah," Scott answered. "I'm here."

"We're having a meeting at my house, be here at eight, okay?" Kevin asked.

"Um, that's in, like, half an hour," Scott protested.

"Your point?" Kevin knew that if he just kept pressing what he wanted, Scott would agree.

"I kind of don't want to come," Scott said. He sounded like he was dreading the meeting. "And anyways, what's the meeting even about?"

"We need to talk about working on new songs," Kevin said. "And why don't you feel like showing up?"

"I don't know, Mitch is still sleeping," said Scott, taken aback by the sharpness in Kevin's tone. "And I don't want to wake him up, and I don't want to go without him."

"Why can't you just shake him awake?" asked Kevin. _Oh god, this'll take a while. When will Scott realize that Mitch doesn't need another mom? _Kevin wondered.

"That's kind of mean, don't you think?" asked Scott, wincing. "I don't wanna hurt him."

"Seriously?" Kevin rolled his eyes. "Pick him up and carry him. Anything. Just be here, okay?"

"Ugh! Do I have to?" Scott complained. "I didn't even eat breakfast yet."

"Why didn't you? It's seven forty," Kevin said.

"Because it's seven forty!" Scott exclaimed. "I'm not usually even up by now! I'm not coming."

"You have to," Kevin insisted, a commanding tone in his voice.

"I don't want to," said Scott, sounding uncomfortable.

"Scott Hoying, you'd better be there," pressed Kevin. "Seriously."

"Uh, okay, whatever," Scott said. He was planning to say that to shut Kevin up and not go anyway. As they say, asking for permission is harder than asking for forgiveness.

"See you then," Kevin said firmly, and hung up. _Why was Scott so unwilling? _he wondered. _It's a meeting for our group. Well, obviously, Mitch. I'm sick of how… protective he is of the little guy. They need to learn that they can be separated. _

Later, Scott was thinking. He wasn't going to ditch Kevin like that. He decided that he needed to just tell the beatboxer that he wasn't going to go. He grabbed his phone. "Hey Kevin?"

"Yes?" asked Kevin. _Why's he calling, everyone should be here in about fifteen minutes, _he thought, confused.

"I, um, I can't go," Scott said nervously.

"Why not?" exclaimed Kevin, anger rising in him.

"Well, Mitch isn't up yet, and I don't feel comfortable leaving him alone," Scott explained. "I-"

Kevin couldn't hold it in anymore. "Mitch isn't the most important thing in the world!"

"What?" Scott asked, surprised. "I-I didn't mean that what you're doing isn't important!"

"Yeah, you did," Kevin said. _I've gotta show him that he needs to listen to me sometimes, even if that means being a bit out of line, _Kevin thought.

"Uh, no, you're taking it wrong," Scott said, trying to amend quickly.

"You need to come, for the group," Kevin insisted.

"Fine," Scott spat. "I'll go wake him up." He quickly hung up.

Kevin sighed. _It took him a while to come around, _he thought. _But it was worth it. I think that I could get used to everyone else listening to me more. It feels great. I think that Kirstie's the most accepting of my new plan so far. But then again, she's really easygoing. But Scott… _Kevin sighed. _He's going to be hard to work with. _


	3. The Final Straw

"Fine, I'm here," Scott said, throwing his hands up.

Kirstie turned around and waved. "Why are you angry?"

"I'm not," Scott sighed. "It's just, I didn't really want to come."

"Well, now you guys are here, we can finally get started," Avi said, smiling. "Where'd Kevin get to?"

"I think he's in the kitchen," Kirstie replied.

"Can I go home?" Mitch asked, none of the usual attitude and sass in his voice. "I'm tired, and upset."

"No!" Kevin poked his head around the kitchen door. "Stay here!" He disappeared again.

"Got it." Mitch sighed, sitting down on the couch.

Kirstie sat down next to him and hugged him. "Hopefully this'll be over quickly."

"Do you think the meeting really matters to me?" Mitch looked up at her. "I'm only here because Scott wanted to come."

"I didn't!" Scott exclaimed. "Kevin made me!"

"Alrighty guys, let's get started," Kevin said, walking into the room. "Wow, you guys all look depressed. What's going on?"

"What do you think?" Mitch looked up at him. "My boyfriend broke up with me. I j-just don't know what I d-did wrong!" He started to cry quietly.

Scott hugged him tightly, glaring at Kevin. "God, Curvy, how insensitive can you get?" he asked quietly.

"I'm leaving, I need to be somewhere," Mitch said, getting up and nodding goodbye to them, wiping his eyes.

"Hey!" Kevin called. "Come back!"

Scott shoved him. "Seriously, dude?" He shook his head. "You don't get it."

"You can't push me!" Kevin exclaimed, anger boiling up in him. _I can't believe him!_

"Well, you can't be mean to him!" Scott yelled back.

"Oh yeah? Well I-" Kevin began.

"Guys! Stop!" shouted Avi. "Look at yourselves!" He tilted his head back, sighing. "I just don't get why you can't calm down!"

Kevin pointed at Scott. "He pushed me!"

Scott glared, pointing back. "He's evil! He was being a jerk to Mitch!"

"Everything's not about Mitch!" exclaimed Kevin, ignoring Avi.

"Well, maybe you could at least try to understand what he's going through instead of being all cold and mean!" shouted Scott.

"You need to get that you depend too much on each other!" Kevin yelled, holding up his hands.

"Well, would it hurt you to take care of your friends a little bit more?" Scott asked.

"Someone should lock you in a room for three weeks," began Kevin. "And the door would be soundproof. And Mitch would be on the other side of that door. I wonder how long it would take for you to die without him!"

"Shut up!" Kirstie exclaimed. "Just shut up, okay?" She sighed. "What's gotten into you guys?"

"Scott is a problem." Kevin crossed his arms.

"Oh, what? Did I inconvenience you because me caring about my friend is making you allergic?" Scott spat.

"Kevin," Kirstie said, putting one hand on each of their shoulders. "Why don't you take a chill pill and calm down. Play your cello, maybe."

Kevin nodded, and went to the corner of the room where the magnificent instrument stood. He tightened the bow and began to rub it against the long, taut strings.

"Scott," she continued. "It's really sweet that you're sticking up for Mitch. But he's not even here anymore. I don't think it's necessary."

"Well, would you like us to say mean things about you when you weren't around?" Scott challenged. "I certainly wouldn't, and I won't let it happen to Mitch."

"It's good that you care so much," Avi said. "But I think you're taking it a little too far."

"Too far, huh?" Scott looked around at them. "That's what I get for trying." He turned around and stormed out. "Oh, and I'll make sure to tell Mitch that you guys aren't into helping him out." He slammed the door, then realized that Mitch had driven home and he needed to get a taxi.

"Hey Curvy?" asked Avi, approaching the beatboxer, who was furiously playing his instrument.

"Yeah?" replied Kevin, looking up.

"What was that about?" Avi questioned.

"I need to stand up for myself," Kevin said firmly. "Everyone expects me to be allowing and let them do whatever they want. But I've had enough."

"This is ridiculous," Kirstie said, standing by Avi. "We thought Scott went too far? No, you're the one who went to far, Kevin." She turned to leave. "Come on, Avi."

Avi gave Kevin a sorrowful glance before following Kirstie out.

"Wait! Guys!" Kevin exclaimed. The door shut and silence surrounded the beatboxer. _What kind of messed up thing did I do? _Kevin thought, distressed.

That night, he pulled out his journal.

_I know that at the time, being in control of everything sounded pretty good. Great, in fact. But now that I've been doing it, I don't feel the way that I should. I don't feel appreciated, I feel like a tyrant. _

_If only I could go back in time and realize that they really did listen to me and love me and appreciate me. They do, and their world revolves around us as a group, and each other. I wanted everything to be about me. I got jealous of how they were respected. But today after they all dumped me, I read some comments on youtube. Everyone loves me just as much as them, and they think I'm really talented and what holds the group together. _

_And they're right, but they're also right about my friends. I need to man up and apologize before things get to bad. And that means tomorrow. Right away. _


	4. Forgiveness

"Hey, Kirstie?" _Pick up, pick up, _Kevin pleaded. They'd been giving him the cold shoulder for three days.

"What?" Kirstie sounded tired, but happy to some extent.

"You're talking to me!" Kevin exclaimed. "Yay!"

"Just what?" Kirstie said, sighing. "Why'd you call me?"

"I wanted to apologize," said Kevin quietly. "I was really mean. I just…"

"Sorry, I have to go," Kirstie said quickly. "I've gotta… um, talk to someone… else."

Kevin sighed. _I'm trying to say sorry! I guess they still haven't forgiven me, _Kevin thought. "Talk to you later, I guess."

"Kay, bye!" Kirstie hung up. She turned to Scott and Mitch. "Guys! Kevin's normal again!"

Scott glared at her. "That doesn't mean we like him any more than we did."

"But he's saying sorry," Kirstie said, a bit taken aback by Scott's hostility.

"Whatever," Scott said, and turned his back.

Kirstie sighed. She crossed her arms.

"Um, Scott?" Mitch's voice was soft.

"Hm?" Scott turned around.

"I think we should hear Kevin out," the tenor said firmly.

"Wha? But why?" Scott couldn't believe it. "He was mean and selfish and weird!"

"Yeah, but he's still our friend." Mitch glared up at Scott. "We can't leave him alone."

"I guess you're right," Scott said begrudgingly.

Kirstie smirked. "If I'd said that, you wouldn't have agreed, would you?"

Scott shook his head. "No, probably not."

"Sometimes I think your weird adoration of Mitch is cute, but right now it's plain annoying," Kirstie said, snickering.

Mitch, a bit clueless, looked up at Scott, who was also laughing.

"Have it your way," the blonde replied to Kirstie.

"Adoration?" Mitch wondered. He was still nonplussed. He felt himself blushing, face tingling as the pink spread.

"Are we gonna call Kevin?" asked Kirstie. She began to pick up her phone.

"Wait!" Scott held up his hands. "Hang on. Maybe we shouldn't talk to him yet…" his voice trailed off as he saw Mitch. The tenor was staring up as him, brown eyes wide, silently pleading for him to forgive Kevin. "You know?" Scott shook himself, pulling his gaze away from Mitch. "Never mind. Let's call him, we've given him the cold shoulder long enough."

"Yay!" Mitch exclaimed, pretending not to have known why Scott changed his mind. "Kirstie, you can do the honors."

Kirstie had been watching the pair with an 'oh-my-god-nothing's-cuter-than-these-two!' look on her face. "Oh, course." She tapped on her phone, then held it up to her ear.

Kevin answered immediately. "Hi?"

"Hey Curvy, it's Kirstie," she said. "We wanted to say sorry for, like, shunning you."

"You shouldn't." Kevin sighed. _I was such a jerk! They're forgiving me? I love them. Best friends ever. _"I was mean to Mitch, and I tried to be better than you guys."

"But that's in the past," Kirstie said. "We love you again. But could you tell us why you were acting all weird that way?" She put the phone on speaker so the other two could hear, holding it out.

"I guess I thought that you didn't appreciate me enough," Kevin said, sighing. "And I thought that if I showed that you couldn't boss me around, you'd listen to me more."

"But-" Kirstie began.

"I know," Kevin interrupted. "I was really mean, and after you guys all dumped me, I realized that you listened to me all along, and appreciated me and looked up to me and respected me."

"We do," Mitch said.

"Mitch?" _What's he doing there? _Kevin wondered.

"Uh-huh?" Mitch answered.

"Oh, nothing," Kevin said. "Could you tell Scott that I'm sorry for yelling at him?"

"He doesn't have to," Scott said. "I'm here too. And I'm not one to hold a grudge. Sorry for pushing you."

"Oh, I didn't really care," Kevin said, smiling. _These guys are the best, _he thought.

"Someone get Avi," Scott said.

"Will do," Kevin replied. "Hang on." _How do I do this again? _he wondered. _Where's the button?_ When he'd finally found the three-way call function and Avi was also part of the group, nearly three minutes had passed.

"He went to Yale and speaks three different languages but he still can't figure out his phone," Scott commented, laughing.

"What's going on?" asked Avi.

"Kevin is our friend again," Mitch explained. "If you accept him."

"Of course!" Avi exclaimed, relief coursing through him. "I was just waiting for you guys to come around."

"Really?" Kirstie laughed.

"Yay, movie ending," Mitch said. "But I still have one question."

"What?" asked Kevin.

Mitch put his hand on Scott's face and pushed him away from the phone. "What did Kirstie mean by adoration?"

"Huh?" Avi was confused.

"Oh, I just said that Scott adored him," Kirstie explained cooly. "Scott, go away for a second."

"Okay, okay," Scott got up and walked out of the room.

"Oh, yeah," Avi said, subconsciously nodding in agreement even though they couldn't see him. "I see it every day."

"Seriously?" Mitch asked. He sat there, feeling like an idiot. "How do all you guys know something and I don't?"

"Because you're kind of… how could I put it- naive?" Kevin pondered. "On the topic of Scott."

"Naive is the least you could say," Kirstie added. "More like completely guileless."

"I hate you guys," Mitch said, smiling and crossing his arms. "What's going on?"

"Oh, you'll find out sometime," Kirstie said, being reclusive on purpose.

They all laughed, glad to have Kevin back.

"Hey guys?" Scott's voice came from the other room. "Can I come back in now?"

Kirstie laughed even harder. "Yeah!"

Kevin smiled. _I love my friends. Even when they're being crazy, _he thought. "Well, I'll talk to you guys later."

"Bye Curvy," Avi said. He hung up.

"Byeeee!" Kirstie said, drawing out the word.

"Bye," Scott added, jumping onto the couch where Kirstie and Mitch had been sitting.

"See you later," said Mitch. "Love ya!"

Kirstie hung up.

That night, Kevin pulled out his journal with a different motive.

_Tonight I made up with my friends. I'm over pretending that I'm bigger than them. I know that we're all equal, and they respect me and love me like a brother. _

_I couldn't believe it when I got that call from Kirstie. I thought that they were done with me. But I guess they realized that I was just acting crazy, and they gave me another chance. _

_They're the best friends anyone could ask for. _

_Kirstie's always sweet and understanding, helping everyone else out. She's never selfish, and she's always funny and energetic. Helping everyone else be happy must be her purpose in life, and she does it pretty damn well. _

_Scott and Mitch… so many wonderful words surround those two. These must be just a few. Well, adorable. Sweet. Lovely, amazing, and inspiring. Perfect in their own ways. The best thing about Scott is that he has such crazy ideas, but they're genius. He's really heartfelt and gentle. Probably what I love most about Mitch is how he's nice and innocent on the outside, and inside he's just a plethora of adventurous and rebellious and sassy. And everyone loves him because he's so unique and crazy. _

_Avi's always understanding and calm. He helps everyone out of bad situations and never even thinks of himself until the rest of us are alright. He's so selfless and caring, always there for us no matter what. _

_I'm really lucky to know these people. I hope I'll never make the same mistake again. _

~The End!~

I am planning on doing a second part of Kevin's Dilemma, but this time he's not doubting the other's respect for him. I'm kind of messing around with the idea of him working out Scott and Mitch's relationship and pointing them in the right way(romance!). So yeah. Bye!


End file.
